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A wind driven electrical generator, with a number of blades on a rotating
blade disk, built into a structure such as a house, a shed, or a barn. A
portion of the structure can serve to funnel or direct wind into the
blades, to increase the electricity generated.

Inventors:

LEITH; JOHN; (CHUBBUCK, ID)

Serial No.:

631510

Series Code:

12

Filed:

December 4, 2009

Current U.S. Class:

290/55

Class at Publication:

290/55

International Class:

F03D 9/00 20060101 F03D009/00

Claims

1. A wind powered electrical generating system comprised of one or more
rotating fans configured for wind propulsion, with said fans incorporated
into an existing building.

2. A wind powered electrical generating system for incorporating into a
building, comprising: a rotary impeller fan unit with a horizontal
oriented axle, said fan comprising a planar blade disk rotatably mounted
on said axle with a plurality of flat blades mounted thereon, with said
blades mounted radial to said axle and at a periphery of said blade disk,
with said fan unit permanently mounted on a building sidewall, with said
blade disk configured to rotate in the wind; a fan surrounding structure
which blocks wind from impacting a lower half of said blade disk, with
said fan surrounding structure further shaped to direct wind into an air
intake region and into said fan blades; a generator contact strip
attached to a periphery of said blade disk, to provide a surface for a
generator to contact said blade disk for turning said generator for
producing electricity; and a generator in functional engagement with said
generator contact strip and configured to turn movement of said blade
disk into electricity.

3. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
fan surrounding structure provides an outboard support for said axle,
with said inboard axle support being adjacent to said building wall.

4. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
fan blades are generally planar in configuration.

5. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
fan blades are generally flat and curved in shape.

6. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
fan unit is placed against a building wall with said building wall
oriented to be impacted by wind from a prevailing wind direction, and to
deflect and channel wind into said air intake region.

7. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
fan unit is built into a building with said air intake region built into
a roof of the building.

8. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 7 in which a
portion of the roof of the building forms a ramp for channeling wind into
said air intake region, with said roof including an overhanging portion
which overhangs said blade disk and helps to channel wind into said air
intake region.

9. The wind powered electrical generating system of claim 2 in which said
blade disk is mounted horizontally, with said blade shaped to resemble
conifer trees, and to thus form unobtrusive windmills in an open area.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention generally relates to an apparatus for generating
electricity from wind, and more particularly to generators built into
structures in homes and buildings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] There have been a number of devices which have been built to
capture the energy of wind. One of the earliest ones that was patented in
the United States was the patent to Halliday, U.S. Pat. No. 11,629 which
is for a windmill with a tail, in which the tail always keep the blades
of the windmill facing into the wind. This device was typically connected
to a pump for pumping subsurface water into stock tanks on the western
prairie of the United States.

[0003] Other devices have been utilized to use wind energy to produce
electricity, including the current generation of windmills which can be
mounted to boats or structures in which the propeller blades are like the
propellers of an airplane, or may be propeller like with a band joining
the tips of the blades for stability at high speeds.

[0004] With the costs of power generation certain to continue to increase
as fossil fuels become scarce, there is still a need for production of
electricity from windy areas of the United States in order for the
country and individual consumers to be more self-sufficient as far as
their energy needs.

[0005] An ideal wind generation structure for people who live in an area
windy enough to justify it would be wind generation structures which are
built into existing structures, such as: built into the structure of a
house, a barn, or a garage; built into a sidewall of any of these
structures; or into the roof of these structures. What is needed is
electrical generation systems which can easily be adapted for use in
existing structures, such as the walls and roofs of buildings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention is a wind powered electrical generating system which
is incorporated into the structure of a building. The generating system
of the invention includes one or more rotary impeller fan units, with one
version having a horizontally oriented axle and another having a vertical
axle. The fan unit includes a generally vertically oriented planar blade
disk which is mounted for rotation on the axle. The blade disk can be on
one side only of the fan blades, or it can be on both sides of the
blades. Alternatively, the blade disk may be mounted fixedly to the axle,
with the axle being configured to rotate and to be supported by one or
more bearings at either one or both of its ends. The blade disk is a
round and flat disk to which are attached a number of flat blades mounted
along the periphery of the disk. The blades are mounted with a radial
orientation to the axle. The blades can be flat and planar or they can be
flat and have a curved shape. The blade disk is oriented to be exposed to
a prevailing wind in the location in which it is established, and to
rotate in the wind for the purpose of generating electricity.

[0007] The fan unit includes a fan surrounding structure which partially
encloses the blade disk and its attached blades. The fan surrounding
structure blocks the wind from impacting half, or at least some, of the
blades and directs air into the unobstructed portion of the blade disk.
The unobstructed portion of the blade disk forms an air intake region
which may be on the top portion or the bottom portion of the blade disk,
and which faces into the wind.

[0008] The blade disk includes a generator contact strip which is attached
to the periphery of the blade disk. The generator contact strip provides
a surface for contact with a generator, so that rotation of the blade
disk can be converted into a rotation of the generator, for the purpose
of generating electricity. The system thus, also includes a generator
which is in functional engagement with the generator contact strip and is
configured to turn to convert movement of the blade disk into
electricity. The generator can be in contact with the blade disk through
a wheel on the generator which is in frictional contact with the
generator contact strip. The generator can also be in functional
engagement with the generator contact strip by the use of gear teeth in
either or both of the generator and the generator contact strip. Other
connection strategies can be utilized, such as having the axle have
gears, or running a belt or chain off the axle to turn the generator.

[0009] The axle of the rotary impeller fan can be supported on one side or
both sides of the axle, with the fan surrounding structure providing
support for the outboard side of the axle. The inboard side of the axle
is adjacent to the building wall and may be supported by being attached
to the building wall or to some other supporting structure.

[0010] The wind powered electrical generating system of the invention can
be placed against a building wall so that the building wall itself serves
as a channel for deflecting the prevailing wind and directing it into the
air intake region of the fan unit. This can be accomplished by selecting
a wall of an existing building which presents the best angle to the
prevailing wind, and building the wind powered generating system against
that wall so that the maximum volume of wind will be deflected and
directed into the air intake region of the fan. The fan can also utilize
the prevailing wind by being incorporated into a purpose build building,
with a long wall of the building directed at an angle to the prevailing
wind so that the maximum amount of wind is directed along the wall and
into the air intake channel. In either the retrofit, or the purpose build
configuration, auxiliary structures can be built to further direct and
channel the wind into the air intake region. This can take the form of
ramps built into the wall of the building, or adjacent buildings
positioned to contribute to a funneling effect of wind passing between
the two buildings.

[0011] One configuration of the wind powered electrical generating system
of the invention is one in which the fan unit is built into a building so
that a portion of the blade disk is exposed through the roof of the
building. This can be accomplished by incorporating the air intake region
into a portion of the roof, with the portion of the roof below the air
intake region serving as a ramp to channel air into the air intake
region. A structure below the roof can further serve as part of the air
ramp, and deflect wind onto the roof of the house and into the air intake
region in the roof. In this type of configuration, the air intake region
of the fan can also be covered by an overhanging roof portion which
serves to keep rain out of contact with the blade disk, and also serves
as an air entrapment funnel to direct more air into the air intake region
of the device.

[0012] A fan of the invention can take the form of a fan with a vertical
axis, with the blade disk positioned horizontal to the ground. The blade
disk may be a solid piece or may be a ring like structure. In this
embodiment of the device, the blades of the fan can be more or less
shaped like the profile of a conifer tree, with the blades and the blade
disk being configured to turn in the wind and to power a generator by
contact with the blade disk. An auxiliary structure can be present in
this device which attaches to the top of the axle and stabilizes the
spinning of the tree like fan blades at high speeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing two versions of the wind
powered generators of the invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective cut away view of a house showing the
connection of a generator to the fan blades of a wind generator.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a tree shaped wind generator of the
invention.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative version of the tree
shaped wind generator of the invention.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wind generation system of the
invention built into a shed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The wind generation system of the invention is shown to advantage
in FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 1 shows the wind powered electrical generating system
of the invention, designated as 10, built into a sidewall 20 and roof 46
of a building which could be a house, a barn, a garage, a shed, or other
building. The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a rotary impeller fan unit
16, a horizontally oriented axis 18, a blade disk 12, a number of
radially mounted flat blades 14, with the fan unit 16 mounted on a
building sidewall 20.

[0019] Also show in FIG. 1 is a fan surrounding structure 22 which directs
air into the fan blades 14, as well as shields the lower half of the
blades from contact with the wind, in order to increase the rotation of
the fan blades 14 and blade disk 12. The structure shown in FIG. 1 has a
fan surrounding structure 22 below the fan blades, as well as above the
fan blades, which creates a funnel effect and causes more wind to be
directed into the fan blades 14.

[0020] Not shown in FIG. 1 is the connection of the blade disk 12 and the
generator for generating electricity which is shown in other figures.

[0021] Also shown in FIG. 1 is another type of rotary impeller fan unit
16, with this unit being a roof mounted fan unit 24, with a horizontal
axis 26, and fan blades 14. In the case of the roof mounted fan unit 24,
the fan unit may be housed in an overhanging roof portion 28, which
protects the unit from rain, and also serves to channel air into the fan
blades 14.

[0022] In the rotary impeller fan unit 16, shown mounted to a building
sidewall 20, the size of the unit can vary according to the particular
installation and for the type of winds present in the prevailing wind
patterns of the area. An example of a system could include a blade disk
12, which is approximately 60 inches in diameter, with fan blades 14,
which are approximately 48 inches by 24 inches. As shown in FIG. 1, the
axle 18 may be supported on one side, or it may be supported on two
sides, with support being provided in the fan surrounding structure 22 or
other structure. In the example of FIG. 1, the fan blades 14 are flat and
rectangular, but curving or cupped blades are also possibilities.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a detail of a rotary impeller fan unit 16 which shows
details of the connection to a generating system 30. The example shown in
FIG. 2 includes a blade disk 12 with attached fan blades 14. In this
case, the fan blades 14 are curved, although they remain flat structures.
The blade disk 12 includes a generator contact strip 32 which is on the
periphery of the blade disk. Although shown in FIG. 2 to be a connection
using gear teeth, the generator contact strip 32 can also be a friction
connection with the generator. The generating system 30 includes a
contact wheel 34 which is powered by the generator contact strip on the
periphery of the blade disk 12. As noted, the contact wheel can be a
geared or a friction contact. Power is transmitted from the contact wheel
34 by gearing 42 to the generator 36. Power from the generator 36 is
delivered to the household or optionally to the electrical grid of the
region by power lines 44, which would include standard electrical
equipment to provide power to the house or to the local distribution
grid.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows a rotary impeller fan unit 16 configured to resemble a
tree. In this way, the fan unit can be fairly inconspicuous on a
residential yard, or in a park, or in a field, and can be placed to
capture wind energy. The device includes fan blades 14, as in the other
embodiments, and a blade disk 12. In this case, the blade disk 12 is a
gear ring and has the generator contact strip 32 on the inside surface
and contacts a contact wheel 34 in the form of a geared wheel. The
generator 36 is shown directly connected to the contact wheel, but geared
connections are also possible. In this case, the axle 18 is vertical. A
stabilizing post 38 can be placed next to the tree shaped rotary impeller
fan unit 16, with a connecting bar 40 attached to the upper end of the
axle 18. This would serve to give more stability to the spinning fan
blades and blade disk 12 in the case of high winds. Also included with
the tree shaped fan unit of FIG. 3 can be a structure which shields half
of the fan blades from oncoming wind. Also, environmental structures can
be built to complement the tree shaped fan unit, and to funnel and direct
air into the fan blades 14. This can be something as simple as a wall or
a pair of walls which form the funnel, or the tree shaped fan unit can be
placed at the end of a building wall where the prevailing wind is likely
to strike the wall and be directed into the fan blades of the tree shaped
fan unit.

[0025] While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment
of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention
is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within
the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it
will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a variation of the tree fan of FIG. 3, and shows a fan
configuration in which the fan blades 14 are curved, and there are more
of them. Otherwise this tree fan is the same as that shown in FIG. 4 of
the invention. The curved blades render a unit with a uni-directional
character; in other words, whichever direction the wind is coming from,
the unit will turn in the same direction.

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a version of the wind generating system 10 of the
invention in which the rotary impeller fan unit 16 is built into a shed.
A structure such as this could also extend from the top of another
building such as a house or a barn, or could be part of a larger building
which included room for other purposes such as storage of equipment. The
rotary impeller fan unit 16 of FIG. 5 includes a blade disk 12, fan
blades 14, a horizontal axle 18, a fan surrounding structure 22, a
generating system 30, which includes a generator 36, a contact wheel 34,
and a generator contact strip 32. This version of the device would
function in a similar manner as the other versions with the blade disk 12
and fan blades 14 being turned by the wind